Once Upon a Time in the Vest: August 2017

at August 31, 2017

These pictures, courtesy of Pete Brown, came our way through the annals of Track and Field News in the form of an annual newsletter they would send out probably to subscribers. The first set is from 1962. Because there are so many of them we will have to show these in several postings.

Ed Red used to be a Track Trivia subject. Who has the shortest name in Track?

at August 30, 2017

David Torrence, former University of California at Berekely miler and distance runner died Monday August 28, 2017 in an accident in a swimming pool in Arizona. He had reportedly come back from a workout and went into a pool and was later found drowned. No suspicions of any foul play are indicated.
David Torrence San Jose Mercury News click here for a more detailed report.

Torrence represented Peru in the 2016 Olympics and placed 16th in the 5000 meters. He set a Peruvian record of 13:23. He also represented the US at the Pan Am Games and won a silver medal in the 5,000. His mother is a Peruvian national. Ironically his father died at the same age when David was only 6 years old.

While at Berkeley David broke the 50 years old mile record of Don Bowden at 3:58.62. Bowden had run 3:58.7.

at August 20, 2017

Dick Gregory's passing was announced today. We will have more on him at a later date. His brother Ron was also an outstanding half miler at Notre Dame. He will be more remembered for his Civil Rights activism and humor, but we also choose to remember his roots on the track.

Great trip , Dick.

Dick Gregory

Dick Gregory at SIU

Dick Gregory receiving the Henry Hinckley Award as outstanding athlete of the year at SIU

Another comedian, Jerry Lewis also died today. Both men took different journeys, but they devoted their lives to making the world better for others.

"I ran an 880 with him and beat him when he was out of shape in May 1958. Tom Sullivan who was 14 beat us both and broke 2 minutes. Ted Wheeler won in about 1:54. He was a funny guy.

On Stagg Field"

Ned Price

I raced Dick over 880 yards in a Ted Haydon All Comers meet in the summer of 1957. He quipped lets go "my beer is getting warm" Jerry Ashmore

"I ran against Ron in the Ozark AAU 2 mile in St. Louis in '59. He was decked out in his Notre Dame uni. I believe he had run around 9:00 previously. Whatever, he was way out of my league. I remember he got beat by a guy from Missouri, Hanneken (sp?) maybe, at about 9:15. I was in arrears by a full minute. Wonder when my name comes up in conversation, if he says, "I remember him. We raced once." Roy

Research has shown us that both Gregory brothers won the Missouri state HS cross country championships running for Sumner HS in St. Louis. Ron won it three times.

George,

Ref. Dick Gregory - His younger brother (I do not remember his first name) (Ron ed.) was an outstanding miler for Notre Dame U. in the late late 50's. I remember running against him in a 1958/59 AAU meet in St.Louis when he ran 4:10 solo with a lack of competition (I was a junior in high school & stood next to him briefly at the start!). I have no idea if you any way to look him up Jerry McFadden

Note to readers: Jerry McFadden and I ran against each other several times in the Big 8 Conference back in the early 1960s. Roy and I have been writing this blog for the last 7 years.
Jerry and I reconnected about 6 years ago, because I knew some of his athletes he coached in Morocco when he was in the Peace Corps in that country. I had served in the Peace Corps in Tanzania. When I lived in Quebec, I met those former athletes. These guys asked me to find Jerry, and that is where the search began. Found him in White Pages. Jerry stopped to visit us in Dayton, and we were able to have a meeting with Bob Schul during that visit. This week Jerry was able to find the reference to Roy's running against Ron Gregory in St. Louis in 1959. You will see 'Roy Swett' as fifth in the two mile behind Gregory. Also of note is international decathlete Phil Mulkey won two events and scored in six others in this meet. The power of the internet for good. George

You & Roy made me work on this one! I consulted on my old high school yearbook, which I haven't looked at in 57 years. Pls see the attached photo & clipping.

Year - 1959 - Ozark AAu

Mile - Ron Gregory in 4:11.9, winning by 30 yards. Another HS student was 2nd, my older brother 3rd, & me 4th

Two Mile - Bob Hanneken (Mizzou) 1st in 9:26, Gregory 2nd, Don Gabbert (Mizzou) 3rd, Mat Schoeder (Mizzou) 4th, Roy Swatt 5th.

880 - Morris Patterson (Mizzou) in 1:55, Terry McKee 2nd, Gerald White 3rd, Bud Krogh 4th.

The article says Gregory's best mile of that year so far was 4:10 (that's the point I remembered).

Jerry

(That was a trip through memory land!)

Here is some more about Ron Gregory
taken from T&FN forum threads
Did Ron Gregory ever hold the Indoor World Record for 880 yards?

This Day in African American Running History:
Ron Gregory – The brother of comedian/civil rights activist Dick Gregory.

11-17-58 Crawford Kennedy-MSU beats Ron Gregory-Notre Dame in the IC4A Cross Country Championship in 24:21.4 at Van Cortlandt Park.

Ron Gregory Career Highlights:
One of the best distance runners to ever come out of the St. Louis area.
Three time 1954, 1955, and 1956 Missouri State High School Cross-Country Champion.
Set a High School mile record on May 25, 1956 with a time of 4:19.2.
Earned All-American honors in cross-country and track at Notre Dame.
Held Notre Dame school records in 13 different categories.
Held the world indoor record for 880 yards.

Ron Gregory did not hold the world indoor record for 880 yards. As far as I can tell, the reference is to a race on February 19, 1960 at a dual meet between Notre Dame and Pittsburgh, won by Gregory in 1:50.5; it was reported at the time that this was a world best for 880 yards on a 220-yard indoor dirt track, which was probably true, but it was not an outright world indoor record.

Ron held the NFHS Mile Record for one week in 1956 before it was broken by Richard Bowers.

What does NFHS stand for?

National Federation of State High School Associations. These are records that a set in sanctioned high school only competitions, unlike Track and Field News marks that can be set anywhere and anytime.

of course, T&FN quit following the NFHS lead 60-odd years ago because the federation, among other things, wouldn't recognize marks from non-members, which as far as I know, meant all the segregated schools in the south, among other things.

Much less than one week. On the afternoon of Friday, May 25, 1956, Ron Gregory (Sumner HS, St. Louis, Mo) won the St. Louis public schools championships in 4:19.2. Gregory broke the NFHS record of 4:19.5 set the year before by Tom Skutka of New Jersey.

That evening, Jim Bowers (De Kalb HS, Il) ran 4:16.1 in the North Central Illinois Track Conference meet. Bowers did not know of Gregory's performance at the time of the race.

The week before, Bowers had won the Illinois state champs in 4:20.7.

at August 17, 2017

JON’S MOST MEMORABLE:

Part X—Women’s Relays.

by Jon Hendershott

4 x 100:

This one is easy—my most memorable women’s 4x1 also set the standing World Record: the barrier-breaking 40.82 by the U.S. quartet at the ’12 Olympics. The Americans hadn’t won the sprint relay crown since Atlanta ’96, but in London, they not only scored the victory but also became the first nation ever to duck under 41-flat.

The USA mark destroyed the former record of 41.37, set back in 1985 by the drug-fueled East Germans, as well as the former AR (41.47 by the ’97 national team) and Games best (41.60 by East Germany from ’80).

The Americans ran the fastest heat at 41.64 with a unit of 100 4th-placer Tianna Bartoletta (taking time away from the long jump to concentrate on sprinting), Jeneba Tarmoh, Bianca Knight and Lauryn Williams. Ukraine (42.36) took the other prelim from Jamaica (42.37), which ran a team of Samantha Henry-Robinson, Sherone Simpson, Schillonie Calvert and Kerron Stewart.

For the final, both nations brought out their big guns. The Americans in lane 7 slotted in Allyson Felix on the second leg and Carmelita Jeter at anchor, while the islanders in lane 6 used two-time 100 winner Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce to lead off while ultra-vet Veronica Campbell-Brown handled the third carry.

Fraser-Pryce gave the Jamaicans a bit of an edge on the opening leg, but then Felix got her long legs unwound down the backstretch to give the Americans a lead they would never surrender. Campbell-Brown made up a little ground on the second turn, but Knight still gave Jeter about a 2-meter cushion to start the anchor sprint.

Century silver winner Jeter surged down the final straight and had enough of a margin at the line to glance to her left at the trackside timer. She roared in delight after seeing the official time; Jamaica came home 2nd in 41.41, then the No. 3 time ever. Ukraine (NR 42.04) finished 3rd.

Women's 4x100 London 2012 View Here

Jeter later explained, “A lot of people kept doubting us; ‘can they do it?’ We showed we could do it. When we walked to the call room, we joked with the lady escorting us. We said how much fun we were having. I knew right there that we would be alright.

“As I was running, I could see the clock tick over: 37, 38, 39, then 40. Then in my heart I said, ‘We just did it!’”

4 x 400:

My first thought on my most memorable women’s 4x4 goes back to the ’84 Los Angeles Olympics, when the U.S. won by nearly 3.0 in 3:18.29. Of course, the Eastern Bloc absence from LA (for “security reasons” claimed many of the nations, when it was clearly in retaliation for the U.S.’s boycott of the ’80 Moscow Games) diluted the field somewhat. Yet the winning USA foursome broke both the American and Olympic Records.

Most remarkable for me, though, was anchor Chandra Cheeseborough, who wrapped up the title less than an hour after handling the third stint on the 4 x 100 champions. “Cheese” thus became the first woman to win golds on both relay teams.

Yet the four-lap relay that really stands out most for me came at the ’93 Worlds in Stuttgart, a race again won by the Americans, this time in 3:16.71. The quartet of Gwen Torrence (49.0), Maicel Malone (49.4), Natasha Kaiser-Brown (49.48) and Jearl Miles-Clark (48.78) outpaced Russia’s 3:18.38. Russia—or the “Unified team” as it was called then after the collapse of the Soviet Union but still using athletes from former “republics” like Ukraine—had won the ’92 Olympic title in Barcelona.

In the Stuttgart race, short dash star Torrence gave the U.S. a lead it never relinquished. But Russia did counter on the final lap with its own sprint ace in Irina Privalova, who split a fastest-of-race 48.47. But the lead enjoyed by Miles-Clark was too much and the Americans produced the No. 2 time in U.S. history.

Women's 4x400 Stuttgart 1993 Clik Here

Miles-Clark compiled a second-to-none record on U.S. 4x4 squads, running in seven World Champs finals and three Olympics. Those teams claimed three global wins and two Games, plus silvers in three more Worlds and an additional Olympics. JMC defined what it meant to be a true team runner.

(Next: women’s jumping events)

at August 11, 2017

This has been the first time in my life that I've been able to watch a Track and Field World Championship, unencumbered by distractions, like work, lack of video coverage, alternative responsibilities and somesuch. I have found it to be an incredible pleasure to see such wonderful competitors from all over the world competing at possibly an even higher level than the Olympics. I can say that because there are no other sports going on to disrupt my attention. I don't have to turn away from the fifth heat of the 100 meters to watch beach volleyball or synchronized field hockey. There is almost no pagentry other than a bunch of guys in funny, furry hats playing long horns to introduce the field events competitors.

Controversy (Isaac Makwala)

Until yesterday there was very little controversy until Isaac Makwala got "Q'd" out of the competition. "Q'd?" ie. Quarantined because he vomited on the warmup pitch before the 400 final. How many of you have tossed some cookies before an event? Should I say 'chundered' or 'called Ray' or 'barfed'? Okay I understand that one of the hotels housing some of the athletes had an inordinate number of their guests getting food poisoning. Could this be a dastardly plot by ISIS to disrupt the championships? Most likely not. Had the hotel been blown up I might have allowed for some speculation.

Observation (Rain) In the men's 200 prelims, it was raining hard. The configuration of the roof on the stadium protected runners in their starting postions in lanes 4-9, but the runners in lanes 1, 2, and 3 got soaked. After about 50 meters though, everyone was out in the rain. Also there seemed to be no effort to dry off the throwing ring in the hammer during that event. Those guys were quite adept at not sliding out of the circle despite the water. I tell you guys, what I could have done with my leaf blower.

Observation (Women's 1500) This blog has already discussed hyperandrogenism, so I won't go into that again except to say I believe you should be allowed to run what you brung, genetically speaking.

The last 600 meters of the women's 1500 meters was one of the best races in the meet. It was just a superb display of running styles, going at each other with reckless abandon. Faith Kipyegon proved her worth as an Olympic and now World Champion. Jenny Simpson displayed the savvy of the wiley veteran, and Caster Simenya showed her durability in the longer race. Siffan Hassan went for the long kick, but came up short. Laura Muir who ended up a nanosecond out of the medals displayed great courage in taking the lead in a reasonable if not super fast pace, and charging down the stretch with her fellow competitors. What that race took out of Laura showed in her performance in the 5000 meter heats today (Thursday) when she was barely able to hang on to qualify for the finals. Indeed, for now her power to recuperate will be fully tested.

Observation (Justin Gatlin) We could go on and on with Justin Gatlin's win in the 100 taking away from the hoped for Hollywood ending to Usain Bolt's career. Gatlin was roundly booed by the house, but it must also be remembered that he had paid the price of years of banishment from the sport. Even Bolt recognized this in the post race interviews. The first bust was for a drug that we prescribe to thousands of children, Adderall, which may well have been prescribed for Gatlin.

But he or his coach probably didn't know how to request a medical need exemption. The second bust was no doubt legit. The fact that he stayed with the sport says something for his character and willingness to take the merciless criticism that he did without flinching. Ben Johnson couldn't do that. And it should be noted that he is five years older than the 'aged out' Bolt. No one has the Bolt's charisma and he will go on as a representative of the sport and live comfortably ( a villa in Monaco?) the rest of his life, and I wish him well.

Announcing ( a small rant)
Living in Canada, I 'm able to watch the meet on both NBC, CBC and the IAAF livestream. I chose livestream as there are no commercial interruptions. Initially the commentary seemed a lot better than that put on by the Americans or even by the CBC. Now it too is beginning to wear thin. There are two men and a woman doing the commentary. Steve Ovett is the more subdued of the males, but his work lacks color and vivacity. Seems very ordinary. The other male has only one adjective in his toolbox, the word 'massive'. I'm reminded how Monty Python once went to the Thesaurus and found other words to use to describe a dead Norwegian Blue parrot. This might help, because after the third time the word 'massive' comes up in this guy's commentating each day, his work seems to resemble a dead Norwegian Blue. To see what I mean, please view the following:
Dead Norwegian Blue Parrot clik here.

(Word Selection)
So if the chap were to open his Thesaurus he might come up with other choices. Put any of these words in front of 'throw' or 'jump' or 'race' and you will see what I mean.

big, colossal, enormous, extensive, gargantuan, gigantic, ginormous, gimongous, grand, great (rather bland and ubiquitous), heavy hefty, huge, immense, imposing, impressive, mammoth, monumental, substantial, towering, tremendous, vast, bulky , cracking, cumbersome, cumbrous, elephantine, gross, hulking, mighty, monster, mountainous, ponderous, prodigous, solid, stately, titantic (rather ominous), extremely titanic (too ominous), walloping, weighty, whopping (not to be used to describe the Italian competitors), astronomic, epic, jumbo, sizeable, brobdinagian? , cyclopedean, super colossal, and Moby. Moby? Okay Mr. Melville, I now see your sense of humor.

If on the other hand a performance should go 'massively' awry, our intrepid announcer might select one of the following words to describe a major balls up.

common, dwarfed, inconsequential, insignificant, limited, little, miniature, minor, minute, narrow, poor, short, slight, small, teeny, tiny, trivial, unimportant, unimposing, unimpressive, weak.

By injecting any of these adjectives one might move forward toward achieving a semblance of journalistic competence, sort of.

(Glenn Campbell, RIP)

One thing I need to add before continuing with the championships, and that is the passing of the entertainer Glenn Campbell. I was very touched when his song "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" was played on the CBC at the announcement of his death. I was driving to the grocery, and found the tears were running down my cheeks. I'd travelled that road from Phoenix to Albequerque, to Oklahoma several times in my youth. For those of you who wish to listen: By the Time I Get to Phoenix clik here.
George

(Comments from our Followers)

So here are some comments and repartee that has come in from some of our regular readers. I'm witholding names to protect the not so innocent.

Comment:

If it was one of my Irish relatives he would be saying "brilliant".

"We get the same day tape here but I taped the program and saw the whole three hours in less than two by fast forwarding through the commercials and the announcers pontificating."

"Some great runs by Van Niekerk."

Comment:

I read if the Botswana kid, Isaac Makwala, won the 200 there would be a national holiday and he would be given $10,000. Botswana currency is the pula. ed. Yes, that is serious money in Botswana, but we are not talking an economy where people toil in the fields all day for $1.35. The gross domestic product per capita is $17,000 (72nd of 162 countries). In the US that is $57,000, so roughly a 3.3 to 1 ratio. Call 10 grand $33 K and you have in our money. How much is that in pula? This is for training your ass off all year and being the best in the world on one particular day.

Let's compare track and field to baseball. Hunter Pence, a good, but not exceptional player, makes $18 million a year...oh, that is for a guaranteed five years. Divide $18 mil by the 162 games he plays in right field, and you get a daily salary of $111,000. (Yes, I had to run through those numbers a couple times to make sure the decimal point was in the right place.) That is over $12,000 an inning. In three innings he pops up to short, catches a fly ball, and fields a one bounce single to right and he's earned more than Makwala would for winning a world championship.

Mamas get your kids off that track and onto a Little League team.

My reply: "I hear what you're saying, but does Hunter Pence get a national holiday for that performance? And remember too that track kids are kids with few options. They can't catch the ball, hit the curve, follow a blocking back downfield, or hit a golf ball 350 yards to within 20 feet of where they are aiming."

Reader: Good point. I guess it evens out.

(Botswana)
My ignorance was evident when Botswana was mentioned. Botswana? Africa?, but where? Obviously I haven't traveled like you guys. Did extensive research on the country- okay Wikipedia- to find that it is an amazingly up and coming nation with a strong economy. Will be watching their athletes with great interest. Go Botswanians!!

Botswana. Always been a successful nation. Lots of natural resources, a steady government, very little corruption. Capital Gaberone, prounced Haberone. Okavango Delta, Caprivi Strip. Neighbor of Zimbabwe but not tangled up in their politics. Read Alexander Smith MaCall's novels about the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. And they have the pula to back up the dollar.

Prize Money
Here's what you get for placing in the top 8 of your event:
World Record $100K
1st $60K individual $80K relay
2nd $30K
3rd $20K
4th $15K
5th $10K
6th $6K
7th $5K
8th $4K

(A certain Commentator)

1. Ato Bolden has chosen the right work. his mouth cannot stop spewing the unnecessary.

2. The one I can't stand is Ato Bolden. He's outrageous. Right before the 100M he trashed Justin Gatlin, going on and on about how he's lost a step, a convicted doper etc. He's ultra partial to any athelte from the Caribbean of course. Gatlin served his time and stuck with it and won. Good for him.

(Views of others)
We get snippets of the WC from TV from time to time, mainly on the weekends. I have always found British commentators to be quite interesting and compelling, but I have also noticed that their "newness" gets old quicker than I would have thought. They tend to be knowledgeable but often pompous.

Yes, we get nbcsn from 2 to 5 each day. sure it's not live or, at least, not all live, but we're to dumb to know the difference as we dont' know the results anyway. as to commentators, my afternoons are filled with "shut the f--k up you cretans!" no "color" is good "color", please change the to before dumb to too

Actually I'm getting ready to watch the doings in London at NBCSN. The coverage has been quite good for jaded minds like mine. Wonderful photography, great crowds, good visuals and flashy presentation. We are missing some Ruskies I'm sure that would have been in the hunt, but at every Olympics/World Championships there is a no show or two. I think I enjoy it more than the Olympics. I get irked watching Africans representing any number of other countries. T says that isn't important and smacks of Nationalism. Maybe so but when I see Bahrain with " the best team money can buy" it sticks in my craw. Yep, the US has two Africans (at least) on the national team. "Soldiers" who got on the fast track to citizenship after running for US colleges. I have no idea how this occurs. Perhaps you do.

(The Young Turks)

I was curious about Ramil Gulyiev of Turkey who won the 200. He put on two flags after the race. What was the second flag? Googled and Wiki gave some of his history. Looks also like some of the tats were acquired in jail, but I guess not really.

The lad was born in Azerbaijan. That explains the second flag.

Move to Turkey, young man.
In April 2011, the IAAF enacted a transfer delay in line with its international rules, banning Guliyev to represent any country other than Azerbaijan until April 2014. The runner highlighted the training and financial support he received in Turkey as significant and argued that language and culture were similar between the two countries. Despite the ban, his home federation remained open to his representing Azerbaijan internationally again. Following negotiations with the Azerbaijani Ministry of Youth and Sports, Guliyev confirmed his orgiinal decision not to compete for Azerbaijan. The minister's feeling was that Guliyev was not good enough to be successful at Rio. On September 8, 2015, he ran the 200 meteres in 19.88. At the time that ranked him tied for 34th best of all time and #6 for 2015.

Well, this year he won the 200 World Championship, Mr. Minister of Azerbaijan. What do you have to say for yourself now, Mr. Smarty Pants?

(More Opinions)
Here are my (a reader's) opinions on the WC.
1) great video
2) like the fact that field events get some coverage
3) terrible announcing

It is as if the announcers are watching a different race than I am.
a) Jenny Simpson makes her great run on the final straight and isn't noticed. Sort of an after thought, oh, by the way Simpson got second.

b) "Miller-Uibo and Felix are stride for stride at 200". Bullshit M-U had like 3-4 meters.

c) the capper was the men's 800 final. The announcer is so enraptured with the race favorites that he doesn't see the French guy (Pierre Amboise-Bosse) make this strong move on the backstretch and take the lead. It was like he was invisible. He has the lead for well over 100 meters, and they are still talking about the favorites. With 50 to go they finally mention that he might win.

d) With all the hugging that takes place after women's races, I found it odd that no one approached Phyllis Frances who won the 400. Not a hug, not a pat, nothing.

(And Finally)

1. Lashawn Merritt was not a factor due to plantar fasciitis.
2. Isaac Makwala was not allowed to run. Couldn't they just have him enter the stadium with a mask, isolate him from the rest of the runners (After all they run out of staggers and in lanes all the way.
Just tell him , "No hugs at the finish"! ! and have him leave immediately after with a mask, attended by a Nurse?????? Come on guys. Get Organized. Get real. If the guy wants to run, find a way. It's not like he has HIV!! (Oscar Pistorius had no lower legs and they let him run. ed.)
3. Fred Kerley not only finished 7th. but, gave up over the last 20-30 meters, Sad. I hope that he will gain experience and toughness over the next two years and be able to tell a different story in 2020 in Tokyo!
4. Van Niekerk was great as advertised. I love his Coach! 160 strides ain't bad either. Can't wait to see him in the 200 final!

The 800 meter final was a big surprise.

1. The boss - Ran tough. Ran Smart. And he's a Frenchman who doesn't pole vault! 1:44.67
2. Adam Kszcot despite not being given the 'pole' lane, he ran an inspired race and his joy showed all over the place! 1:44.95.
Can I spell his name? Maybe! These two finishers made it all worthwhile for me!
3. Nijel Amos 1:45.85 for 5th? really got himself banged all around. I didn't know whether to feel sorry for him or stop wondering if I could still call him "A" mos or if I now had to refer to him as "Ah"mos"

Back home in Botswana they must be playing Nina Simone's tune:
Trouble in Mind Nina Simone clik here to hear.

at August 06, 2017

Betty Cuthbert

Betty Cuthbert, four time Olympic gold medalist for Australia passed away today. In 1956 before her home fans in Melbourne she won the 100, 200, and ran on the victorious 4x100 relay. She did not participate in 1960 due to injury, but in 1964, she won the first 400 for women.

She was a victim of Multiple Sclerosis at the age of 79.

Following is a link to The Guardian's piece about her life.

Betty Cuthbert

Following information is from sports reference.com

Full name: Elizabeth Alyse "Betty" Cuthbert
Gender: Female
Height: 5-6.5 (169 cm)
Weight: 126 lbs (57 kg)
Born: April 20, 1938 (Age 79.108, YY.DDD) in Merrylands, New South Wales, Australia
Affiliations: Western Suburbs AAC, Sydney (AUS)
Country:

Australia
Sport: Athletics

Medals: 4 Gold (4 Total)

Biography

Australian Elizabeth "Betty" Cuthbert won two gold medals in the individual track sprints (100 and 200 metres) and

a third gold in the 400 metre relay in at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. The 18-year-old was instantly acclaimed as a

national heroine by the home Australian crowd, and was nicknamed the "Golden Girl". Injury prevented her from
doing well at the 1960 Games but she came back to win the 400 metres in 1964 at Tokyo and claim her fourth
Olympic gold medal, which she regarded as her greatest win. She is the only Olympic sprinter, man or woman, to have
won gold medals in the 100 metres, 200 metres, and 400 metres. At the British Empire and Commonwealth Games
she won a gold medal in the 4×110 yards relay (with [Joyce Bennett] and the non-Olympians Brenda Cox and Glenys
Beasley) in 1962 and silver medals in the 220 yards as well as in the 4×110 yards relay (with [Marlene
Mathews-Willard] and the non-Olympians Kay Johnson and Wendy Hayes) in 1958. In the 1958 British Empire and
Commonwealth Games 100 yards Cuthbert finished fourth and in the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth
Games 220 yards she finished fifth, but in the 100 yards she was eliminated in the semi-finals. She set or equalled
18 world records between 1956 and 1964 over 60 metres, 100 yards, 220 yards, 400 metres, and in the 4×100 and
4×220 relays. In 1964 she was awarded the prestigious Helms Award for her contributions to sport. Sadly for such a
fine athlete, she later was afflicted with multiple sclerosis, having first been diagnosed with that disease in 1979.
At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, aided by a wheelchair, she was one of several Australian women who carried the
Olympic Flag at the Opening Ceremony.

Personal Bests: 100 – 11.4 (1956); 200 – 23.1y (1960); 400 – 52.01 (1964).

Results

· · · · · · LINK ·

Games	Age	City	Sport	Event	Team	NOC	Rank	Medal
1956 Summer	18	Melbourne	Athletics	Women's 100 metres	Australia	AUS	1	Gold
1956 Summer	18	Melbourne	Athletics	Women's 200 metres	Australia	AUS	1	Gold	WR
1956 Summer	18	Melbourne	Athletics	Women's 4 × 100 metres Relay	Australia	AUS	1	Gold	WR
1960 Summer	22	Roma	Athletics	Women's 100 metres	Australia	AUS	4 h4 r2/4
1964 Summer	26	Tokyo	Athletics	Women's 400 metres	Australia	AUS	1	Gold	OR

Women's 100 metres

Event History · · · · · · · LINK ·

Games	Age	City	Sport	Country	Phase	Unit	Rank		T(H)	T(A)	L
1956 Summer	18	Melbourne	Athletics	Australia	Final		1		11.5	11.82	4
1956 Summer	18	Melbourne	Athletics	Australia	Semi-Finals	Heat One	2	QU	12.0	12.08
1956 Summer	18	Melbourne	Athletics	Australia	Round One	Heat Three	1	QU/OR	11.4	11.72
1960 Summer	22	Roma	Athletics	Australia	Quarter-Finals	Heat Four	4		12.0	12.18
1960 Summer	22	Roma	Athletics	Australia	Round One	Heat Four	2	QU	12.1	12.21

Women's 200 metres

Event History · · · · · · · LINK ·

Games	Age	City	Sport	Country	Phase	Unit	Rank		T(H)	T(A)	L
1956 Summer	18	Melbourne	Athletics	Australia	Final		1	WR	23.4	23.55	5
1956 Summer	18	Melbourne	Athletics	Australia	Semi-Finals	Heat One	1	QU	23.6	23.75
1956 Summer	18	Melbourne	Athletics	Australia	Round One	Heat One	1	QU	23.5	23.60

Women's 400 metres

Event History · · · · · · · LINK ·

Games	Age	City	Sport	Country	Phase	Unit	Rank		T(H)	T(A)	L
1964 Summer	26	Tokyo	Athletics	Australia	Final		1	OR	52.0	52.01	2
1964 Summer	26	Tokyo	Athletics	Australia	Semi-Finals	Heat One	2	QU	53.8
1964 Summer	26	Tokyo	Athletics	Australia	Round One	Heat One	3	QU	56.0

Women's 4 × 100 metres Relay

Event History · · · · · · · LINK ·

Games	Age	City	Sport	Team	NOC	Phase	Unit	Rank		T(H)	T(A)	L
1956 Summer	18	Melbourne	Athletics	Australia	AUS	Final		1	WR	44.5	44.65	3
1956 Summer	18	Melbourne	Athletics	Australia	AUS	Round One	Heat One	1	QU/WR	44.9	45.00